The Soul Eater

Bounty hunter Nicobar Lane has traversed a thousand worlds searching for the mythic Dreamwish Beast. But after a close encounter with the creature, his motives turn from money to revenge and an obsession with his own death.

Birthright: The Book of Man

This brilliant science fiction novel constructs a blueprint of mankind’s history - social, political, economic, scientific, and religious - for the next 18,000 years. Through a series of adventures, it illustrates clear, focused ideas about our birthright and our destiny. Since this 1982 debut, Mike Resnick has emerged as one of the most honored science fiction authors of his time, picking up 40-odd Hugo and Nebula nominations and awards. He has set 25 novels and a novella in the future that was outlined in this book.

Walpurgis III

He has no bank account on any world, no financial or property holdings that anyone has been able to trace. His planet of origin is unknown. Many men have served him; all but seven are dead, and none of those seven have ever seen him. He is a fugitive. His name is Conrad Bland and he is, for the moment, safe. But someone has sent an assassin to find him - and end him. Chief Detective John Sable is caught between his badge and his conscience as the two most famous executioners of all time prepare to do battle in his territory.

Sideshow: Tales of the Galactic Midway, Book 1

Traveling carnival owner Thaddeus Flint swindles the owner of a freak show into an unlikely business partnership. When Flint discovers that the freaks are a group of undercover alien tourists, he keeps the secret from the outside world and looks for an opportunity to expand his carny tour out to the stars.

A strange kind of circus!

The story picks up after a slow start and then...wow! If any of you have experienced a real sideshow, Resnick's presentation of that "life" is very g..Show More »ripping. The narrator of the audio book uses various voices in most effective manner. Can't wait to listen to the next book in this series.

The Three-Legged Hootch Dancer: Tales of the Galactic Midway, Book 2

Traveling carnival owner Thaddeus Flint expands his tour from the American Northeast out to the stars, only to discover that some of the attractions don't quite hold the audience like they did back on Earth. Realizing that his strip show has no more appeal to an alien audience than watching a saddle come off a horse, he reassigns his girls to work the game booths on the midway. When one of the girls can't make the transition, he improvises an alien solution.

The Wild Alien Tamer: Tales of the Galactic Midway, Book 3

The third volume in the 4-book Tales of the Galactic Midway series. The carnival tries a typical carny scam that backfires when their animal trainer and his sentient "animal" go to war every night in the big cage.

The Best Rootin' Tootin' Shootin' Gunslinger in the Whole Damned Galaxy: Tales of the Galactic Midway, Book 4

Five years into his traveling carnival tour of the galaxy, Thaddeus Flint and his alien business partner are rolling in the dough for the Corporation. When Billybuck Dancer, the trick shot artist, gets bored and starts taking dangerous chances with his own safety, Flint captures his attention by arranging a much-publicized and highly-profitable showdown between Dancer and his nemesis, Doc Holliday.

Eros Ascending: Tales of the Velvet Comet, Book 1

The Velvet Comet is the most luxurious and expensive brothel in the galaxy. It boasts casinos, elegant restaurants, a 2-mile-long upscale shopping mall, and highly-trained prostitutes of both sexes. As a huge moneymaker, it is also the object or corporate manipulations. This is the story of one man who has been hired to put it out of business, and the unforseen twists and turns of his adventure.

Eros at Zenith: Tales of the Velvet Comet, Book 2

Arrogant and overbearing Syndicate detective Andrew Crane arrives aboard the Velvet Comet to investigate a murder. When Crane discovers that the murderer is setting a trap to lure a notorious criminal aboard the Comet, the consequences of solving the mystery forces Crane to become judge, jury, and executioner.

Eros Descending: Tales of the Velvet Comet, Book 3

The orbiting Velvet Comet is the most luxurious and expensive brothel in the galaxy. It boasts casinos, elegant restaurants, a 2-mile-long upscale shopping mall, and highly-trained prostitutes of both sexes. And it has its share of enemies, including a leading religious figure who finds himself the center of a moral conflict he never imagined possible.

Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future

Bandit, murderer, known to all, seen by none...has he killed a thousand men? Has he saved a dozen worlds? His legend is as large as the Rim itself, his trail as elusive as a wisp of starlight in the empty realms of space. The reward for him is the largest in history.

Cheesy but fun

Santiago is the pulpy science fiction equivalent of an Wild West manhunt with spaceships taking the part of horses, laser pistols standing in for six ..Show More »shooters, and aliens playing the role of the Indians (in one instance, quite literally). At times, Santiago is just plain bad, but it can also be a lot of fun, sometimes surprisingly so. Perhaps one of Resnick's most clever creations is Black Orpheus, a space-bound incarnation of the ancient Greek ballad singer who incorporates all of *Santiago*'s zany characters into a song about the frontier, portions of which are shared with the reader at the beginning of each chapter. Through Black Orpheus, it is easy to grow fond of the universe Resnick has created for us. Despite its setting, there really isn't much sci-fi here: Resnick provides very little description, choosing instead to allow the dialogue and a bit of expository third-person omniscient narrative to do the work.

With nicknames like the Jolly Swagman, Man Mountain Bates, and Poor Yorick, all of Santiago's characters are larger-than-life caricatures encountered by the bounty-hunter protagonist, Sebastian Cain, as he hunts the notorious outlaw known as Santiago. Sadly, the circus of fun characters is weighed down by bad dialogue, most of which consists of bada-bing! one-liners and poorly placed expository quips. Even so, the characters really carry the story along, and they must because there isn't much of a plot to speak of.

The tale of the manhunt is poorly told, with the first half of the novel following a tiresome meet-and-greet formula: (1) we read some narrative about a wacky character; (2) Cain meets this character and attempts to extract information from him; (4) the main character is referred to another wacky character, at which point we return to step one. This tedious process is repeated about six or seven times before the mode changes.

The narrator, Rueben Diaz, has a great voice and he lends some of the characters a very distinctive personality. Unfortunately, he also struggles with the dialogue. His tone and inflection are sometimes terrible, often sounding as if an unnecessary question mark had been placed at the end of the sentence? Diaz has the potential to be an excellent narrator, but this is certainly not his best performance.

Overall, Santiago will have you laughing one moment and rolling your eyes the next. Its juvenile dialogue and poor plotting often makes it feel like a Young Adult novel but, even with its faults, it is a light, fun read.

Eros at Nadir: Tales of the Velvet Comet, Book 4

Screenwriter and novelist Nate Page arrives aboard the empty Velvet Comet 23 years after it is decommissioned by the Vainmill Syndicate. The light-topic musical holographic production that Nate is writing is based on the Velvet Comet in its prime, and requires research available only through Cupid, the ship's still-functioning and nearly-self-aware onboard computer.

The Dark Lady: A Romance of the Far Future

In the 7th millennium, humans have spread throughout the galaxy and govern most of the inhabited planets. Leonardo, Our Humble Hero and purple-blooded Bjornn of the planet Benitarus II, is sent as an expert appraiser to the Claiborne Art Gallery on the mostly-human planet of Far London. Leonardo's enhanced ultraviolet and infrared vision are ideal traits for assessment and authentication of artwork, and he immediately catches the attention of an aging Far London collector.

Ivory: A Legend of Past and Future

In the year 6303, when Earth is bare of anything larger than an insect or a mouse and most people have left for the stars, Duncan Rojas receives a most unusual visitor. His name is Bukoba Mandaka, and he is the last of the Maasai. Mandaka wants Rojas, senior researcher for Braxton's Records of Big Game, to find the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant, tusks that weigh over 200 lb. each. Why? Mandaka will not say, but he will pay enormous sums for them. And Rojas cannot resist the challenge of tracing something lost for 3000 years.

Paradise: The Galactic Comedy, Book 1

The Earth-like planet Peponi has vast riches, an abundant and opulent wildlife, and most importantly, compliant natives. But now that humanity is on the brink of opening up an entirely new world, has it learned its lessons from the past? A thought-provoking novel from the author of Ivory.

Three strikes and I'm out

The entire story was told without much emotion at all. Which is strange because the story is a story about an interview, and is told as the first-per..Show More »son narrator relates the story to the interviewer; he is relating his life's adventures on a remote frontier-planet - my thoughts are that it SHOULD have been exciting to tell. Maybe the interviewee was monotone and boring, and that's what the director asked for, so that is what we got.

Soothsayer: Oracle Trilogy, Book 1

Mouse, a hard-bitten, cynical woman and professional thief, finds herself in deep trouble when her attempt to rescue a seemingly helpless little girl has potentially deadly consequences in this brilliant and haunting installment of Santiago-inspired adventure. Young Penelope has long had a price on her head, and Carlos Mendoza now knows how she has outwitted her captors - and the awesome powers behind her success. As Carlos moves in for the kill, Mouse is hard-pressed to preserve her life, defend Penelope, and in so doing, save humanity.

Oracle: Oracle Trilogy, Book 2

Since she was a little girl, all humanity has been frightened by Penelope Bailey's awesome psychic talent and her ability to bend events - and men - to her will. Now a grown woman and living on the planet Hades, Penelope is caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a bounty hunter, a government agent, and an out-for-profit outlaw cyborg - none of whom suspect the true depths of her power.

Purgatory: The Galactic Comedy, Book 2

Set in Resnick's far future, where humankind has long spread out through the galaxy and there are as many alien races as there are planets suitable for colonization, Purgatory is a hard look at how many ways an advanced civilization can misunderstand a "primitive" race.

Galactic Comedy?

Comedy as in "Greek comedy"; and easy on the comedy. Was looking for something humorous and spacey. This is a plodding trudge through colonialism dres..Show More »sed in a cheap sci-fi getup. Evans voicing of the conniving reptilian leader puts me to sleep.

Inferno: The Galactic Comedy, Book 3

Disanko, the ruler of the Enkoti, and Susan Beddoes, a representative from the Department of Cartography, help the planet of Faligor to become the richest and most technologically advanced of its sector until an evil general rises to power.

technical and editing problems

there are places where the same thing is said twice and places where the volume and varies. the narrator mispronounces common words like terran and ca..Show More »rtography. he also stumbles on the script often enough to be distracting. otherwise another enjoyable story by mike resnick. a little higher production value and better editing would raise my score significantly.

A Miracle of Rare Design

Immersing himself in military assignments that have made him a first contact liaison with alien worlds, officer William Lennox, a shape-shifter, pursues his obsession for outer-space cultures, and gets more attention from humanity than he desires.

Sometimes a book goes temporarily out of print - and sometimes no audio version has ever been recorded. Audible wants to give you the most complete selection we can and we'll keep adding series and filling in gaps as quickly as possible.

Sometimes a book goes temporarily out of print - and sometimes no audio version has ever been recorded. Audible wants to give you the most complete selection we can and we'll keep adding series and filling in gaps as quickly as possible.

A Hunger in the Soul

In a situation that parallels Stanley's search for Livingstone, a future journalist must find the one doctor who can cure an epidemic that is spreading from world to world. The search is filled with adventure, and the end of the search is not what was expected.

Sometimes a book goes temporarily out of print - and sometimes no audio version has ever been recorded. Audible wants to give you the most complete selection we can and we'll keep adding series and filling in gaps as quickly as possible.

The Outpost

On the planet Henry II, orbiting the twin suns of Plantagenet and Tudor, at the very edge of the great black hole at the center of the Milky Way, there is a tavern called The Outpost. Through the doors of The Outpost have come the greatest heroes, villains, and adventurers of the galaxy - to drink, to brag, and to swap tales.The Outpost is neutral territory where fighting is forbidden and blood enemies can have a drink together and tell stories of battles past. After all bounty hunters, con men, itinerant preachers, thieves, and assassins have more in common with each other than they do with the rest of the mundane galaxy.

The Return of Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future

Bandit, murderer, known to all, seen by none...has he killed a thousand men? Has he saved a dozen worlds? His legend is as large as the Rim itself, his trail as elusive as a wisp of starlight in the empty realms of space. The reward for him is the largest in history.

Loved the book....Hated the narrator.

The narrator sounds more suited for children's stories with fewer than 5 characters . Too happy a voice for this sort of novel......

Starship: Mutiny

The date is 1966 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now, and the Republic, created by the human race - but not yet dominated by it - finds itself in an all-out war. They stand against the Teroni Federation, an alliance of races that resent Man's growing military and economic power. The main battles are taking place in the Spiral Arm and toward the Core. But far out on the Rim, the Theodore Roosevelt is one of three ships charged with protecting the Phoenix Cluster.

Good Fun

Let me start with what this is not.
It is not Orson Scott Card, deep and emotional.
It is also not Asimov, overwhelming you with technical..Show More » details. This is a good story about characters you come to like very quickly, and it never lets you get bored or distracted. It is light and engaging, and the hero is what he should be, a little smarter than everybody else. (a bit like James Bond) I could do without the narrators overused and distinct "said Cole",.. "said Foreyes",.. "said Cole",.. "said Fujiama",.. But this does disappear as the story continues.
I bought the second book before I had finished the first, because the characters are fun to travel with.

Sometimes a book goes temporarily out of print - and sometimes no audio version has ever been recorded. Audible wants to give you the most complete selection we can and we'll keep adding series and filling in gaps as quickly as possible.

Starship: Pirate

Seeking to find a new life for themselves, Cole and comrades remake the Teddy R. as a pirate ship and set sail for the lawless Inner Frontier. There, powerful warlords, cut-throat pirates, and struggling colonies compete for survival in a game where you rarely get a second chance to learn the rules. But military discipline is poor preparation for a life of pillaging and plundering.

It Gets Better

Book 2 is worth taking a chance on if you had read Book 1 and thought it was a slow start.
It was. But Pirate picks up the pace and adds some i..Show More »nteresting characters. The Narrator, Jonathan Davis, does an excellent job of allowing your imagination to believe you are listening to the different voices of all these characters.Forget the "he said, she said" complaint of a previous review, you'll be too engrossed with the action.

Starship: Mercenary

The life of a mercenary is not always predictable. Circumstance now pits Captain Wilson Cole and the Teddy R. against the former Pirate Queen, Valkyrie. Soon the fragile trust that has grown between these two legends is put to the test as they find themselves on opposite sides of a job.

Another Great Story!

Very Nice Book! Very easy to listen to. Lots of Action and Drama. Very well written story with a bit of humor.

Starship: Rebel

The date is 1968 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now. The Republic, dominated by the human race, is in the midst of an all-out war with the Teroni Federation.

Almost a year has passed since the events of Starship: Mercenary. Captain Wilson Cole now commands a fleet of almost 50 ships, and he has become the single greatest military force on the Inner Frontier.

Whats to say the book was great.

I really like good sci-fi war books , the entertainment value is tremendous , the characters in this book were awesome, East listen goes by to quick,..Show More » the narrator was one of the best.

Starship: Flagship

The date is 1970 of the Galactic Era, almost 3,000 from now, and the Republic, created by the human race but not yet dominated by it, finds itself in an all-out war against the Teroni Federation, an alliance of races that resent Man's growing military and economic power. The rebel starship, the Theodore Roosevelt, under the command of Wilson Cole, is preparing to lead Cole's ragtag armada into the Republic, even though he is outnumbered thousands to one.

Sorry to see it End!!

Very rarely do you fine a saga that makes you want to just keep listening! Great Story, nice plot with Action and Drama. Charles Dickens is spining i..Show More »n his grave lol..That a side I wish there was another book.

Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge

Thousands of years after mankind has become extinct, a party of alien archaeologists try to learn the mysteries of mankind as they excavate in a gorge on Earth. This Hugo and Nebula Award winning novella by Mike Resnick is a gripping exploration of human origins and motivations.

Birthright

This is essentially a sequel to, or the unwritten extended ending to, Resnick's earlier defining work Birthright: The Book of Man. If you enjoyed tha..Show More »t, this is a must read. If you've not yet had the pleasure, pick that up first.

I started listening to this not realizing this. I was still captivated and enthralled. I love this piece. When I realized the connection it got even better.

While it certainly stands tall on its own, I believe it's best understood with the full background laid out in Birthright. If you read in it only a depressing epilogue consider first the glory, determination, and hubris that preceded it.

If you still don't buy my review next to the negatives, don't miss the notes of it's winning both the Hugo and the Nebula awards.